Learning of Hearts
by LadyJoji
Summary: The world is capable of monstrous things. Sometimes, the monster is you. Symbolism, fight scenes, romance, and a bunch of other stuff ensue. This is ultimately an Elsanna story. Work In Progress.


NOTE: If you haven't read the prologue, it's right here! s/9982799/1/Learning-of-Peaches

Dearest readers,

Hey guys! Firstly, I just wanted to say a heartfelt THANK YOU to everyone's kind words. I really appreciate the support, especially since this such a new thing for me. So here's the first chapter of the main story I had in mind. Not quite as extensive as I would have liked (wanted to write in a lot more), but I'm pressed as it is because I'm going to Disney World in a few days and I really wanted to get a chapter out before then. Timing is silly, sometimes. Anywho, I may do a bit of writing while I'm in the hotel, but for now here we go. Things are gonna get crazy. Hang on to your butts (or.. you know, other people's butts, if they consent to it).

-LadyJoji

**I don't own Frozen. Disney owns Frozen.

* * *

"LEARNING OF HEARTS"

A Frozen Fan-fiction by LadyJoji

Chapter 1: Bad First Impression

"There is the fear that we shan't prove worthy in the eyes of someone who knows us at least as well as we know ourselves. That is the fear of God. And there is the fear of Man- fear that men won't understand us and we shall be cut of from them."

-Robert Frost

* * *

_Cut through the heart, cold and clear-_

A nervous, timid man waited beyond the tall double doors to be called into his boss's chambers. The door creaked open, allowing him full passage, and he slithered through in a rush to reach the very stern man sitting quietly at his mahogany desk, looking ever so diligent and undisturbed. "Sir?" the timid man squeaked. "We've received word that there was, um... some sort of... 'ice explosion' towards the North. Our sources are saying it occurred about two weeks ago."

_Strike for love and strike for fear-_

It wasn't for a few minutes before the man even recognized his subordinate waiting awkwardly in front of him. "And you're _sure_ it wasn't just another avalanche?" the man asked coolly. He didn't bother to look up from his work. "I don't have the time, nor the blood pressure, for another false alarm."

_There's beauty and there's danger here-_

"W-We're positive, sir. There's no mistake."

Finally, the man felt it was time to give his subordinate a slice of decent attention and he removed his glasses, setting them down on the papers in front of him. He folded his hands and looked up at the skittish man from his comfortable seat which made the messenger start to sweat on the spot. "So?" he asked, slightly impatient. "Where was it?"

_Split the ice apart-_

"A-ah, um..." the timid man cleared his throat and addressed the piece of paper in his hands. "I-It's about four or five days of travel from here. Near a city named 'Arendelle'."

_Beware the frozen heart._

"Arendelle?" he remarked. "That's a small trading hub, isn't it?" He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, the stubble prickling the tips of his calloused fingertips. "Interesting place to hide," he mused as he rose suddenly, startling the timid man to the point of almost dropping his piece of paper, but clutched it tightly and peered up at his boss expectantly. The man looked more akin to a mouse than a human being, and quite possibly would rather be somewhere else nibbling on the end of a piece of cheese in a dark and damp hole had he not been a part of this organization.

"I want every available asset on this mission," the man stated. His type of walk was not steps, but strides, taken by force as if it were he who was the sole reason for the Earth's rotation. "We do not leave without her and we do it at any cost, is that understood?"

"Y-yes, sir! Absolutely, sir!" the timid man confirmed excitedly, scampering behind. "B-But, there's one more thing, sir..."

"And that is?"

"It seems that Arendelle has sent out invitations to a masquerade. It's scheduled to start at the beginning of the month, to celebrate the crowning of their new Queen. They've invited many neighboring countries to this party. Royalty from all over the North will be there."

The man abruptly stopped at the entrance to his chambers and smirked. "Good. I think it's about time that the North knew what this fight is all about, don't you think? Tell the boys to dress nicely. We certainly don't want to make a bad first impression in front of the new Queen." He ripped his coat from the rack, and before it had a chance to wobble a door guard grabbed it firmly by the pole without much emotion. "And get me a list of those fortunate enough to be invited," he added. "Perhaps I shall introduce myself before the party."

* * *

Arendelle was in very high spirits that day. For the first time since their queen's coronation (a mere month ago), there would be a grand collection of royal blood flooding in from many corners of the Northern lands to wish her a glorious and prosperous reign. The docks soon would be filled with the richest of ships adorning colorful, elegant flags representing their country of origin. Carriages will race down the dirt freeway just to be the first to enter the gates. The streets were lively and buoyant with heads from the crowds bobbling in anticipation of the city-wide event. Anna couldn't have been more excited than anyone as she finally had a ballroom with a ball to go with it. She held her own quite well in terms of party planning and decorations, but Elsa was not so gifted with keeping her nerves disciplined. The white-haired queen of Arendelle was flouncing about with her eyes wide open and her breathing quick as a rabbit as she swept through each room like a nervous hurricane. The flowers were not colorful enough, the paintings were not straight enough, Kristoff's tie was not tight enough (he disagreed, of course), but when she got to Anna there were no critical remarks to be found. She merely grazed over her and went on to fret about vase in the corner that looked particularly unsteady./p

"Elsa?" Anna asked carefully. She approached her sister as if not to startle a deer in the forest. "Are... you okay?"

Elsa sucked in a breath and reeled her hands back, letting them hover near her face before balling them into fists to keep herself from fixing the vase that mocked her on the table. "I think I'm going to have a heart attack," she said, her forehead resting on her fists for balance.

"Hey, no problem!" Anna exclaimed. "If you have a heart attack, I'll be sure to get one of the maids to sweep you under the rug." Anna smiled and took the space next to her elder sister, staring inquisitively at the vase with playful exaggeration.

Elsa groaned. "Oh Anna, I'm serious!" She reached out and held the vase by the base, intending to scoot it just a half an inch to the right. "It's been ages since we've properly had this place cleaned, and royalty is going to be here! I mean, we had the coronation not too long ago and look at this already!" She swiped her gloved finger along the wall and held it up as undeniable evidence. "_Dust_!"

Anna snatched Elsa's finger and held it. "Elsa. This is now an intervention. I care about you, so it's only out of love when I say that you are freaking out way too much."

"But-"

Anna rolled her eyes and removed her sister's glove (not without some minor resistance), planting a kiss upon the pad of the woman's finger. "Look," she began, "tonight's going to be great. I promise." She began to fix Elsa's attire and the white-haired woman just let her, despite there being nothing physically wrong with her clothes. The midday sun from the window in between them doused one side of their bodies, but the warmth came from somewhere closer. "We're going to get all dressed up, there's going to be plenty of delicious food, we'll dance a bit with some gorgeous strangers, and most importantly- every single person who walks through those gates is going to be impressed by you and your city." Anna squeezed her sister's hand as Elsa couldn't hold back a smile. "So relax, Elsie. _Chill_-" Anna stared blankly for a second, then snorted.

Elsa raised her eyebrow. "Just came up with that one, did you?" Their laughter calmed and she affectionately looked at her younger sister. "When did you grow up like this all of a sudden?" she asked. Anna took her cheek and brought their foreheads together, the light breaking through the empty spaces like a sever in the dawn.

"At about the same time as you did," Anna smiled. "I was just outside your door."

There was a moment that lingered, something tangible that could be pocketed and saved for cold days to warm the hands, but it passed away, sifting through their fingers as soon as a maid went to close the curtains of the window. Kristoff hurried in with his burly hands working at the knob of his tie under his vest. Anna spotted him and grinned as her boyfriend was looking rather sharp for the party, patting Elsa gently on the cheek with an 'I'm-Watching-You' eye before making her way towards the blond.

"I'm not really much of a suit and tie kind of guy..." the large man admitted sheepishly. He kept working at the knot for a minute before Anna impatiently waved his hands away like pesky flies.

"Stop fiddling with it, Kris!" she demanded and the larger man went straight into a soldier's position as his girlfriend dove right into the mess. "You triple-knotted this? How does someone even _do_ that?"

Kristoff scoffed. "Have you ever worn one of these things before? It's like a labyrinth down there!" he exclaimed, then added after a second thought: "Oh, also, Sven can't decide which bow tie to wear for the party. He's getting all anxious about it. I told him to just stick with the black one, but-"

"Sven can't come to the party, Kris," Anna said. "He's a reindeer."

"And Olaf's a snowman!" Kristoff protested. "Which, by the way, don't you think it might be a little... a little startling for people to see a walking, talking snowman breathing heavily on their kneecaps?"

"_Olaf_," Anna retorted, playfully batting her eyelashes, "is our _waiter_, thank you. And why not? Most everyone around here knows that the Queen of Arendelle has weird ice powers by now. It's a really good impression, you know? They'll walk in and go: 'Oh, how cute! A little snowman! There's nothing to be afraid of!'" She slipped up the knot of the tie to fit snug against the blond's collarbone and tugged the rest to lay it flat against his chest. "All we have to worry about now is you. Stop that scowling and look pleasant, will ya?"

Elsa overheard the giggling and playful banter, and she was pretty sure she was smiling. She was positive she was smiling. A humble maid tapped the queen on the shoulder to inform her of the proper preparations needed to fit the new dress. She thanked her politely and followed the woman out of the room before she had to witness the lovey-dovey kissing of the newly couple. She was still pretty sure she was smiling as she left.

* * *

At around the time the masquerade was supposed to begin, royal guests were already lining up at the gates with their assorted, glittering masks hiding their eyes. It was truly a sight to see so many well-dressed people eagerly awaiting early access to the famous Arendelle castle that was once dark for over a decade. Even outside at the center of the small city was a rowdy festival for those not of royal position, specially crafted by Elsa herself. She wanted to be sure that guests of all backgrounds, from anywhere, were included in the festivities. Food stands and trinket carts corralled like a herd of bison for the stirred masses while entertainers enticed awe-induced cheers from the crowds. The masquerade theme reached the streets where Arendelle's citizens sported handmade masks from readily available material such as painted chicken feathers or stored holiday tinsel. Everyone seemed to be hidden right in front of people they've known for years.

Previously, Anna had spoken to Olaf about Elsa's anxiety and warned him to stick by her side in case she started to swallow herself up in distress. Olaf, being the perpetually ecstatic creation he was, saluted her and accepted his position as head of Don't-Let-Elsa-Turn-Everything-Into-Ice. A full-time job surely, in addition to being given the task of waiting on their guests (they routinely gave him ice chips to munch on and removed the snow cloud to prevent any unfortunate accidents), but he was happy to oblige all the same. He trailed alongside his elegant mother with a bounce in his step as his thin, stick arms held straight up to balance a plate of appetizers above his head. He was surprisingly very good about keeping the food from being thrown everywhere.

"Don't you worry, Elsa!" he squawked. "Tonight's gonna to be great! You'll see! It's gonna be FUN and SPECIAL and everyone's gonna LOVE the CHOCOLA-"

"Elsa! Hey!" Anna's voice twirled from the other room. She waltzed in, dress dancing around her heels, and Elsa held her breath. They regarded each other, still and silent, amongst the passing and pardons of servants as they got the very last details set into place. The strawberry-blond woman was never quite the example of elegance that her sister undoubtedly possessed, however, on this night, she graced the very ground she walked upon. The heels of her gold slippers would have trailed a mangled pathway of tulips and sunflowers had the floor of the ballroom been made of grass. Her dress challenged the sun, as well; it shimmered with gold and extravagant flamboyance that rippled like the rivers of spring with every step she took, all accompanied with pearls around her neck and a half-ponytail styled with braids.

Olaf gawked, too, before letting out a long, complimentary whistle of approval.

Anna winked at him. "Settle down, snow-hound!" She then looked to Elsa, stunning her. "What do you think, _your majesty_?" she drawled, falling into another visually appealing spin.

"Spectacular!" Olaf piped up. His little plate of food hopped with him as Elsa's face only grew redder with every adjective. "Radiant! Gorgeous! Magnificent! Wonderful! Dazzling! Why- I could just grab you and ki-"

"Beautiful," Elsa quickly interrupted. She waved her hands in front of her, trying to gesture something, but it proved to fail and she collected her gloved hands at her stomach. "Y-You look beautiful."

"You look beautiful yourself," Anna smiled shyly, her hands going to pick at her fingernails during a weak moment of bad habits taking advantage of her preoccupied mind. The white-haired woman had a silver dress made especially for her, lined with small diamonds that flashed the whitest sets of teeth in the right light. It wrapped across her chest, leaving one pale shoulder exposed, and crossed behind her back where a light blue bow draped behind her at the small of her back. Anna's eyes wandered down to the woman's open-toed heels and snapped back up with a correcting blink. "Y-You really do look fantastic," she fumbled. "And I've never seen you with your hair down like that! You should do that more often- why don't you do that more often? You should really do that more often..."

Anna's growing nervousness was rubbing off on Elsa as she, too, couldn't hold her words well. They fell from her mouth without a net to catch them, so fragile as they were, one would think they could shattered if they hit the floor. "I-I don't know," she said, suddenly noticing the tips of her white hair as she began to bat at them. "I-I just thought it'd look nice, and-"

"It does look nice-"

"Ah- thank you, thank you... And um... and your dress fits you very well. You look great in gold."

"Silver suits you, too, Els. I mean, you look great in any... color, like..." Anna fell forward, grabbing her sister by the hands. "I've gotta tell you, Elsa. I'm getting all nervous now." She looked around briefly before coming back to her sister's questioning face. "The last time we had a party, you know..."

Elsa drew in a breath, both to steady herself and to hopefully forget that awful night. "I know. But it's not like that now. I'm not going anywhere without you." She gently nicked her hand under Anna's chin. "I promise. Although if you eat all the chocolate, I might have to run you out of town."

Kristoff then appeared from the other room, dressed very smart and appropriately in his red Victorian attire with a golden deer-like mask covering his eyes. When he spotted the two girls he side-stepped a few maids and landed his hand upon the younger sister's back, to which she brought her gaze up to him and pinched his cheek with an excited laugh.

"Well! Don't you look _handsome_!" she squealed. He grimaced and handed them both a pair of masks where Anna chose the glittering lioness face, and Elsa, the decorative black swan portrayal with black feathers that branched off the top.

"How about it, Elsa?" Anna asked as she giggled to herself and held the mask to her face, tilting her head. "Shall we open the gates?"

With a final survey of the ballroom, making sure food was in plentiful supply and the balcony cleared of tree debris and other unwanted scatterings, Elsa deemed the place acceptable. One hand positioned the swan mask over her nose while the other hand raised up, her voice commanding out a hefty: "Tell the guards to open the gates!" She grinned. "Let the party begin!"

* * *

The party, as far as the surface went, was a huge success in every aspect of the word. From the windows Elsa could see her people dancing in the street in a large circle like a tribal ritual, their masks catching the smile of the moon and ricocheting the light off of each other's second faces. Kids were having their fun as they normally did, but it was the adults, especially, who were reveling in this night of debauchery and distraction. A group of children formed near one of the stands and one seemed to spot her from his spot as he raised his tiny hand and waves enthusiastically at her. She let out a small smile, knowing full well the boy probably couldn't see it her lips, and returned the gesture.

Within the ballroom people had begun to sought dance partners and lead them gently by the underhand to the dance floor, while Elsa was by no means a figure of elegant dancing. She refused every offer thus far and had no intentions to break the streak, instead choosing to spend her time marveling in the vibrant colors of everyone's masks and dress. The back of Anna's head spun by, Elsa recognized the braids fashioned in her hair, and the Queen elevated her chin to peek over the crowd. As she suspected, there was her precious younger sister in the large arms of her blond mountain-man as they stepped with each other with ease to the waltz. This tugged on the strings of her memory, recalling exactly when the ecstatic woman slid to her backside and grabbed her by her hand, dragging her towards the ballroom so they could practice. Elsa, of course, was asked to take lead and an instructor was there to supervise their attempts. Anna almost broke her sister's foot and the heel from one of the younger woman's shoes launched itself into the instructor's eye with such force that the poor man had to kneel and ride out the pain before continuing his teachings with a pirate patch. The whole time, Anna insisted on no gloves. She was like that.

"Excuse me, your majesty..."

Elsa had to tear her gaze away from the couple dancing happily to acknowledge the person speaking, and by the normal standards it was customary to look upon the speaker's face, however, she was only faced with the mask of a fox, one that nearly covered the entirety of the person's face. At first this startled her, but she cleared her throat and summoned a polite smile.

"Good evening, sir," she said. They both exchanged a bow. "How has your night been?"

"Evening, your majesty," he said, keeping his posing and speech very formal, but friendly. "It has been nothing but a pleasure to be here. Everything is perfect tonight. I actually came over here with the hopes that you would grace me with a dance?"

"Oh, sir... I..."

"Dustin, please..." he laughed.

"Mr. Dustin," she repeated, feeling apologetic. "I'm very sorry, but I don't dance."

From behind Dustin's head Elsa caught what felt like the crazy eyes of her sister from behind her mask. Kristoff was spinning her around and Anna's wild, aggressive gestures at her as she passed by made it quite clear that she wanted the white-haired woman to dance with him. Elsa tried to secretly signal her disapproval, but quickly composed herself and straightened up when he spoke to her again.

"I don't mean to be a bother, your majesty, but I traveled so far for this chance to talk to you," he pleaded, his soft hands going to take hers with all of the gentleness and tenderness of holding a dove. "It would mean the world to me, Queen Elsa."

Elsa's eyes flickered back and forth between the fox's face and Anna's lioness mask that seemed to be so unaffected compared to the rest of her body convulsing at her to dance with this man. She then noticed his hands and how strangely she seemed to regard them, as if the didn't quite belong to the fox himself. To be truthful, Elsa didn't want to dance not only because she didn't quite know how, but because she also didn't feel comfortable with any of the men. Having grown up with only her father as the most prominent male figure in her life, she still couldn't touch him or hug him, and so her ability to relate to a man was very askew. However, she supposed she would have to get close to one eventually because that's how it worked. She spied Anna out of the corner of her eye, cheering silently in a very physically loud way as she ultimately accepted the fox's hand to dance.

The fox man even looked very much like a fox if they were to stand on two legs. He was quite a thin man made up of small, lean muscle, and had a very sharp chin accompanied by a pair of lips that seemed to be carved by pillow tuft. Elsa didn't feel as apprehensive about this one, but she was still sitting on the unfavorable side of the fence when it came to dance. She was shocked when she heard him say: "Shall I lead or you?"

"Excuse me?" the queen asked, blinking. "What do you mean?"

The fox was obviously taken aback by her reaction. "I'm sorry. Is that strange?"

"It's just..." Elsa tried to dig up the appropriate answer, but found that there was none. "I-I wasn't expecting..."

"Oh, I see," the fox murmured. "Personally I have no qualms about either, but the choice is yours."

Elsa suddenly felt like she was being judged by the people spinning around her, sneering at her. In a half-minded moment she agreed to allow him to take the lead and got into position just as the Waltz of the Flowers blared from the orchestra. Out of the corner of her eyes she saw the couple again, glancing up every so often to observe the white-haired woman's situation. They were talking to each other, mumbling, with their heads closing in on each other. She looked away.

"I'll go slow," the fox said, "so you can follow easier."

Just as he described, he went slow with each step so the queen could pick up on his movements and mimic them. Back, back, turn. Back, back, step, turn.

"You're smiling," the fox suddenly said. "Actually smiling, I mean. Not just out of politeness."

"Are you always so observant?" Elsa replied in a humored tone as The Second Waltz swept them across the floor, being mindful of other guests and their dance partners.

"It gets easier to pick up on things like that when you separate social expectations from actual emotion," the fox said with a small shrug. "Comes with being surrounded by it, I suppose, but no one really acknowledges it. Someone could be severely depressed and no one would know because they refuse to see it."

Elsa was quiet for a moment. "You sound a bit like someone I used to know..." she remarked.

"Do I?"

"A governess- that I met once," the queen explained. "She talked like that. Where are you from, if I may ask?"

"I hail from-" he cleared his throat, "Gayle," the fox curtly replied. "A very small country just some days west of here. It's very nice at this time of year."

"Gayle, hm?" Elsa smiled. "I'm sure it's very nice any time of year."

The music stopped and everyone halted with it, rewarding the orchestra with a round of applause for their astounding performance. The fox took his opportunity and leaned towards the queen's ear. "May I speak with you in private?" he asked, his hands folded behind him against the small of his back. Elsa tried to pick Anna's head from the crowd but was unable to locate the woman. She must have been in the other room, drooling over the desserts with Kristoff battling every urge to embrace and caress the dolphin ice sculpture.

To be polite, Elsa accepted the fox's request and they migrated to the empty balcony that overlooked the Arendelle castle gardens. Ducklings followed their mother in the stream as they shook and waddled in nature's bath. The moon was full and voluptuous in her presence where even the pores were filled with light. The flowers had their own secret waltz among the dappled grass and patient frogs that seemed to be waiting for their turn.

The fox stood at the railing, his hands still clasped behind him. Elsa had slipped the mask away from her face while the fox did not. He was very thankful for the privacy. "I did come a very long way to talk to you," he began, his hands tightening, "but you must listen very carefully."

"I am..." she said, holding her ground. "What is it you need to tell me?"

The fox took in a deep breath and harbored it, unable to look at the queen just yet. "How many royal leaders have you met tonight?"

Elsa's eyes blinked and she looked downwards in thought. "I... Not many," she admitted. "Not any, in fact. But it's still early in the night."

"I have scouted through this entire party and I have run into none of them," the fox said. "None of them are here. So my question is: where are they?" He spun on his heel, his hands unfolded from his back and he held them out. "Your majesty, I'm not-"

A gunshot erupted from the middle of the dance floor and both Elsa and the fox whipped their heads towards the glass window. Everyone in the ballroom was screaming and scrambling to the outer circle where a man stood in the middle, holding a rifle with one hand, its bayonet pointed at the ceiling. His mask was very different from the others, depicting the long beaked nose of a plague doctor with a dark hat that blackened his eyes. He took a few steps around in his heavy boots that shook like thunder.

"Ladies and gentleman, I don't mean to intrude on this lovely affair, but..." he swung his beak around, dragging each word along the ground very slowly like a screeching chalkboard. "_Where_ is the ice witch?"


End file.
